Kobe Bryant: Rape Case Taught Me How To Deal With Pressure

In a rare interview with “In Depth” host Graham Bensinger, L.A. Laker star Kobe Bryant discussed the impact his rape case had on him,according to the Huffington Post.

In June of 2003, Bryant was accused of sexual assault by a 19-year-old woman who worked at the Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Eagle County, Colo. At the time, Bryant faced up to four years in prison if convicted or up to life on probation for the rape case.

While the accuser dropped her charges against Bryant a little more than a year later, life for Bryant was put on its head, with sponsors, such as Nutella and McDonald’s, promptly dropping him as details of the charges became public. In addition, his two-year marriage to wife Vanessa seemed to be doomed from the gate.

Of his time in “darkness,” Bryant told Bensinger that the ordeal seemed endless, “There’s times where it just seems like days are just endless, like this is never going to end. This feeling, this dark time is just never going to be over.”